The exchange tournament which started on Wednesday 25 March entered the final day. Unfortunately it rained, but the weather did not keep the heated contests involving countries’ pride from taking place. The 1st-place match between Tajikistan National U-15 Team and Iran National U-15 Team lasted into the long penalty shootouts, where Iran eventually grabbed the championship with 8-7 win. 

The four-day event enabled all the participating players not only to battle for wins and losses but also to learn from each other and gain valuable experience for future developments. 

In the afternoon, with the guests invited from the Japan Sport Council, the Iran Football Association, the Kyrgyz Football Association and the Turkmenistan Olympic Committee, all the participating players and involved personnel enjoyed the tournament reception. The captains from each participating country spoke of respect they felt for opponents, joy for the great tournament they just experienced, and the hope for future events.

Also during the reception, a lot of photos were taken together among players of different nationalities and new friendships were born. It reminded everyone at present of the power that sports have to “connect people”.

Comments

ALYKULOV GULZHIGIT (U-15 Kirghiz National Team)
Japan National U-15 Team were such a strong team. Their physical strength was better than ours, and their techniques were outstanding, too. I think we couldn’t manage to deal with it well, and especially today the difference of our athleticism was obvious. Thank you to Japanese people for making this opportunity happen. We tried to be the champions, but it’s not enough. We need more practices. Thank you for inviting us to this tournament. It was an awesome tournament.

GALKIN ROMAN (U-15 Turkmenistan National Team)
I’m glad to join this tournament. The matches and staying environments were great. I saw many matches by other countries. My favourite match was U-15 Iran’s match, and I became friends with them in our hotel. I think Japan national team were the most organized of all teams. I enjoyed visiting an aquarium on my day off, and watching J league a match was really exciting. I’d love to come again. Thank you to everyone. Let’s play a match again.

JFA-TV

※Japan-Central Asia U-15 Football Exchange Program
It is a youth football exchange tournament inviting teams from Japan and the Central Asia region. As part of the international contribution programs, ''SPORT FOR TOMORROW'', which is led by the Japanese government, the event is supported by the Japan Sport Council.
More information

Entry teams of the programme